Villagers voice concerns over plan for 244 homes
VILLAGERS have been left “deeply troubled” after Ton- bridge and Malling Council ap- proved plans for 244 homes in Aylesford. The authority granted outline planning permission for the Royal British Legion Village and at Preston Hall, both in London Road, but chairman of the Royal British Legion Village Resi- dents’ Association, John Jack- son, said villagerswere far from happy with the proposal. Mr Jackson (54), of Heaf Gar-
dens,who spoke at the planning meeting where the approval was granted, said: “People in the village are deeply troubled and disturbed by these propos- als. Villagers are not opposed to sustainable and sensitive devel- opment but these plans are in- sensitive and unsustainable. “I’ve spoken to hundreds of people in the village and I’ve yet to meet one person who has support for the plans. We are not Nimbys, but we believe the number of dwellings is too great for the area.” Mr Jackson said residents’ biggest problem was that the council had said in its local de- velopment plan that the Preston Hall site had a capacity for “in
the order of 180 dwellings” yet had given outline consent for 244 dwellings – a 35%increase. He continued: “If they’ve al-
ready added 60-odd houses to their original suggestion, what’s to stop them adding another 60, or more, when detailed plan- ning permission is sought?” Lindsay Pearson, Tonbridge
and Malling Council’s chief planning officer, said: “The ca- pacity given in the LDF is only an indication of how many homes the site might accommo- date and, being an estimate, it is not unusual for such figures to err on the side of caution. “Detailed work to assess the capacity of the site was under- taken by prospective developers and this has led to the number of homes now proposed.” Royal British Legion Indus-
tries was granted outline plan- ning permission for about 36 dwellings over four sites in its village, along with a new road and improvements to memorial gardens. The South East Coast strategic health authority was given per- mission to demolish hospital buildings and construct 208 res- idential units, including about 36 within Grade II listed Pre-
Made to measure Bedrooms, home studies and lounges
Fitted by our professional fitters
Made to measure
Home visits & FREE quotations
5 YEAR guarantee on all furniture
Bespoke furniture
Free expert design service (available evenings and weekends)
01622 729855 Award winning family run business
Exceptional quality, modern design & traditional elegance Opening Times
Mon Fri 8.00 - 4.30 Sat 10.00 - 4.00
Est 31 years
169 Tonbridge Road, Maidstone, Kent ME16 8NA
www.bedroomflair.com
Visit Downs Mail’s website —
downsmail.co.uk Malling 17
ston Hall, as well as altering the onsite road network. Villagers are also concerned
the development would cause additional air and noise pollu- tion in an area flanked by the M20 and A20, the Royal British Legion Industries factory and recycling centre. They feel the already congested area would notbeabletocopewithmore traffic. Mr Jackson said the in- flux of new residents would put strain on doctors, dentists and other services and said there were no facilities to occupy young people.He said the coun- cil and landowners had failed to consult villagers adequately. Aylesford Parish Council ob-
jected to the proposals formany reasons, including perceived traffic problems and a lack of fa- cilities. Maidstone Council did not object and Kent Highway Services said traffic studies showed the developmentwould not result in an increase of traf- fic through the site. A spokesman for Tonbridge
and Malling Council said the applications had been ap- proved, subject to some minor variations to some of the condi- tions, which had yet to be fi- nalised.
Ian aims high
been helping the charity for a year, mainly on Sun- days in the cat- tery. He will be tack-
ling the three peaks challenge – Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon – from May 3 to 5, and aims to raise at least £1,500. To sponsor Ian, visit
www.justgiving.com.
Osteopathy plan A FORMER solicitors’ office could become an osteopathy clinic in Malling Road, Snod- land. Tonbridge and Malling Council has been asked to ap- prove the unit’s change of use. Agent Peter Misy said with
little or no competition locally, the business should flourish, keeping the building occupied.
Vote for councillor VOTERS were due to go to the polls on Thursday, January 17, to elect a new member of Ley- bourne Parish Council. Candidates were: Stephen Baldwin, Brian Luker and KevinWagstaff.
to help animals RSPCA volunteer Ian Cotton is training for a three-day moun- tain trek to raise funds for Ley- bourne Animal Centre. Ian, right, has
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40